February 2017 Lions Pen
From the President …
Greetings, fellow Lions!
While we don’t have quite as many activities in the month of February to keep us busy as we do at other times during the year, I want to encourage you all to consider taking part in both of our Club meetings this month. At the Board Meeting on Monday, February 13, we will discuss the presentation we saw last month of the RAMS Lab. We have an opportunity to contribute to this program and it would be great to hear from as many Club members as possible as we explore the different ways in which we can lend our support. Our Club is very fortunate to be in a position financially to be able to consider an opportunity like this and it’s exciting to see all the hard work we put into fundraising pay off!
I’m also excited about the Social Meeting on February 27. Instead of the normal format where we have a speaker and/or program, we’ll meet at Davanni’s in Roseville at 6:00 p.m. to simply enjoy a meal together and socialize. This is an excellent opportunity to catch up on all that’s been going on with our fellow Club members, exchange stories, and have a few laughs. We’ve done this the last couple of years and I think many will agree that this gathering is a lot of fun — and it may just be one of the highlights of the year!
Once again, it’s a great time to be a part of such a strong, vibrant Club. I hope you all take pride in the good work we do and appreciate the many ways in which we are able to support our community!
I’m looking forward to seeing you all soon!
-Lion Kent.
Membership
Welcome new Lion Matt Smith of FH into the club!
Midwinter Convention
Several of our Lions enjoyed our hospitality room on Friday, January 8 at the District 5M6 Midwinter Convention. We served cheese and crackers and shrimp, and played ‘80s Trivia while listening to ‘80s music in honor of our founding in 1986.
Social Meetings
January 23 Social Meeting – RAMS Lab Supporters, Roseville District 623
Guests were:
Aldo Sicoli – Roseville Area Schools Superintendent
Karen Schaub – District Liaison to the Roseville Area Schools Foundation
Miles Lawson – Curriculum Coordinator for STEM-Based Programming
Anna Jacobson – FH School Media Specialist
Gale Mason-Chagil – Roseville Area Schools Foundation President
Sally Brummel – prospective Lion
Miles Lawson brought in a swarm of Bee-Bots and the Lions had a ball programming them. (See pictures below.) He also had some computer game program boards plus a slide show for us. Miles stated that elementary students are learning programming starting in First Grade, and Central Park has a SPARK Lab. High school students have access to one of the few remaining Industrial Technology programs in the state. But there is a big gap with nothing offered at the middle school level. The RAMS Lab is meant to address this by focusing on five cornerstones of technology: Engineering, Computer Science, Fabrication, Virtual and Augmented Reality, and Makerspace that can be shared across all departments. There is also a Social Justice component as they aim to get girls and minorities interested in STEM.
Some of the possible tools for the lab would be drones, VR goggles, 3-D printers, video games, CNC routers, and maybe even a welding simulator. Prices range from less than $100 to over $20,000. (See Appendix for prices.) Miles was a very enthusiastic cheerleader for RAMS Lab and several Lions, me included, would love to play there. They hope to begin installation this Spring and finish next Spring.
Gale Mason-Chagil reported that the proposed RAMS Lab is sponsored by the Roseville Area Schools Foundation, who have committed $100K and 4 years of support to get the program off the ground. Note that Lions Susan Hoyt and Peter Lindstrom are board members of the Roseville Area Schools Foundation. For more information: Roseville Area Schools Foundation.
Anna Jacobson requested some equipment for the FH School media center that would tie into the RAMS Lab. See below for a report on our field trip to check out their makerspace.
Aldo Sicoli demonstrated his commitment to the RAMS Lab by attending our presentation. He briefly mentioned their new Partners for the Future initiative. There are three parts to the program, Inspiring Young Readers (reading to elementary students), Mentoring (for older elementary and middle school students), and Creating Career Connections (for the high school level). I’ve been participating in the mentoring programs at both Central Park and at RAMS. (You can choose to work with one group or both.) Each group holds monthly rallies, and they each have two field trips planned. For the first field trip we went bowling at Flaherty’s two weeks ago. If anyone is interested in joining me, or would like more information about the program, see me.
Lion Ken
|
|
|
|
|
|
RAMS Lab
For those who missed the RAMS Lab presentation on January 23, here is a link to the slides: RAMS Lab Presentation. Be sure to click on all the embedded video screens for demonstrations of the technology in action. Also, note the prices of the different kits in the Appendix. We will consider a request to buy some of those kits on Monday night. We welcome all input, such as the following from Lion Susan:
I am expressing my support for the Roseville Area School Foundation’s request for $20,000 for the Rams Lab Project.
As treasurer for the Roseville Area School Foundation Board of Directors, I am familiar with the project and its purpose to give students hands on experience with a variety of tools.
The Foundation chose to support this project because it offers an opportunity to provide enhanced and unique learning for middle school students. It serves many students in the district rather than a specific subset of students.
Any support that the Lions can provide will be very much appreciated.
Thanks for considering this request.
Very Truly,
Lion Susan Hoyt
FH School Makerspace
Circuits, Bots and Bits
On Feb. 8 Ken, JonA and I had the opportunity to observe a couple of classes participating in Makerspace sessions at Falcon Heights School. The classes were made up of energetic and enthusiastic 5th graders. Makerspace is a broad concept that tries to get everyone from first graders though adults involved and engaged in invention and problem solving using tools like circuits, robots and computers. In the short time we had, we saw students program little color sensitive robots (Ozobots) to follow instructions over an arbitrary path, build a small machine to create random tracings on paper using a motor from an electric tooth brush, and create a circuit to control the launch of a spinning helicopter-like rotor. Accomplishing these tasks required team work, problem solving, attention to detail, and persistence. The reward, at least for the observers, was the smile shown by the students when their creation worked.
Makerspace is not part of the mainline curriculum in Roseville Schools but is offered as something extra. In the case of Falcon Heights it was offered during the normal media center time. Not being part of the standard curriculum means that the cost, essentially the kits and supplies, has to be covered by donations. PTAs and the Roseville Area Schools Foundation have been the main contributors. At the Lions Board Meeting Feb 13 we will be discussing a proposal for the Lions to participate.
We will also be discussing the Roseville Schools FAB Project at the meeting. Though not part of the same program, Makerspace and the FAB project are related. The basic skills including programing (sort of communicating with machines), basic electronics, problem solving, and team work will be a great help when Makerspacers become FABers.
Lion Paul
TCKINRC Backpack Build
On January 28 eight FHL Lions and one spouse joined 75 other Lions from 11 clubs to build backpacks, fill teacher kits, assemble chairs and other tasks for the Twin Cities Kids In Need Resource Center. Afterwards, some of us stayed for a potluck lunch. Thanks to Lions Aleli, Joe, JohnB, Paul, Ken, Jerry, Tom, and Matt for helping. We issued a challenge to the other clubs to jointly raise $2700-4600 for a pallet wrapping machine for the center.
We Serve
We contributed $530 to the SAP Senior Program for exercise classes in Lauderdale.
Appendix: RAMS Lab Pricing
